Exercise rider dies in Churchill Downs training accident

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Odanis Acuna, an exercise rider for trainer Kenny McPeek, suffered fatal injuries Saturday at Churchill Downs when the horse he was breezing before dawn broke down in both front legs.

Acuna incurred head and neck injuries that proved fatal, said McPeek.

Acuna, a 42-year-old native of Cuba, had worked for McPeek for about 10 years. He also worked for a local horse-feed company.

“Obviously, everyone is extremely upset about this,” he said. “Odanis was a fantastic person and one of the hardest-working people you'll ever meet. It's a real tragedy.”

The horse was New York Harbor, an unstarted 2-year-old Verrazano colt who had to be euthanized, said McPeek.

In the wake of Acuna's death, training at Churchill was canceled for the rest of the morning following the 7 a.m. Eastern harrow break. An 11-race program was to be held later in the day, with a moment of silence in Acuna’s honor scheduled for about 30 minutes before the card began.

It was the first known training accident at Churchill to result in the death of an exercise rider in several decades, according to veteran horsemen and track officials.

McPeek posted the following on his Twitter account Saturday morning: “We are all sick and saddened by the loss of such a good man in Odanis Acuna. We are working on all details to help his wife and children. There will be a Go Fund Me page soon.”

Churchill released details of the accident late Saturday morning, reporting it occurred at approximately 5:45 a.m., when New York Harbor fell about a sixteenth of a mile before the finish line and suffered catastrophic injuries.

“Onsite emergency medical technicians who arrived on the scene to treat Acuna believe he died instantly,” according to the Churchill report.

Acuna was married and had three sons.

“Today is a somber day,” Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs racetrack, said in a statement. “We extend our deepest sympathy to Odanis’ family, friends, colleagues and the entire team at trainer Kenny McPeek’s barn. Our hearts are with them in this difficult time of extreme sorrow.”

Memorial and funeral services and fundraising efforts for the family are pending.

Acuna was known to his racetrack friends as “Cuba,” a nod to his homeland. He was remembered by friends as a tireless worker who was dedicated to improving the life of his family. He was heavily involved with the Backside Learning Center, a charitable organization based on the Churchill backside.

Sherry Stanley, executive director of the Backside Learning Center, said of Acuna in the Churchill release: “He was just a wonderful, wonderful person. His entire existence was focused on bringing his wife and three sons from Cuba to here in Kentucky. He was just about to finish the process of purchasing a home and the immigration paperwork to get them green cards.

“He was the hardest worker. I know everyone always says that about people on the backside, but this guy was unbelievable. He worked as an exercise rider and went running out the gates after training every day to get on the feed trucks. He would work every day until 6 or 7 at night and always had a smile on his face. No one ever saw him angry or sad. He was just the happiest, most joyful person who was completely focused on his goal of getting his family here to Kentucky and settling down. This is just an unbelievable tragedy.”

Said McPeek: “When he started with me, he had little or nothing, and he got himself pretty well set up and had been saving money. He bought himself a car and was getting ready to buy a house. He was hard at it all day, every day. We worked together a long time, and he traveled with us wherever we went. He rode a lot of my best horses for years and was a guy who could handle just about any horse you put him on. He was just a good guy and loved what he was doing. I am just sickened by this tragedy.”